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Diabetes is not a disease

Some people think of diabetes as a disease.

Disease (noun): a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that produces specific symptoms or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury.

Yes, diabetes is a disease – a disorder in the functioning of pancreas of a human body that produces various symptoms including fatigue, lot of urination, side effects on the kidneys, the heart etc. etc. Well to be honest, the list of what ill-managed diabetes can do is endless. So definitely diabetes is a disease.

But is a disease all it is today? Does that definition all there is to the word ‘disease’?

When someone thinks of diseases they think of pain, suffering, restrictions and even death. It is associated with grief, sadness, frustration, depression and misery. But with all the available engineered technology and biotechnology today, life with diabetes is miles away from all these negative emotions that the word “disease” comes along with.

DIABETES IS NOT A DISEASE.

Diabetes is not a disease, scientifically yes but not in the sense a common man understands it to be. Not in the sense that it’s the end of the world!

Many say it is annoying to keep taking insulin every-day or not being able to eat everything they want. Well do we think about taking a shower every day? Do we think about breathing every day?

A plant needs to be watered regularly to be alive, just like we need insulin to survive. Too much can kill the plant and too little can too.

A machine needs to be greased once in a while to function at its best like we need insulin to function at our best. Too much greasing or too less, both affect the functioning of the machine.

You see, the whole world- be it natural or man-made works in balance and EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING has something it depends on.  So we, as diabetics, depend on synthetic insulin. Taking insulin injections every day for a diabetic is no different that breathing or taking a shower. It becomes a reflex action – a part of a routine. Soon, we don’t see insulin injections as an abnormal thing to do in a day but a very common, normal part of life.

As for food, it is all part of the necessary balance. Have you ever given a thought as to how much tastier an ice-cream bar or a ladoo is after a long time of not eating any of them? Think of restriction on diet as a healthier way of living, a way to enjoy the small joys you receive when you do get to have it. Being a diabetic doesn’t mean you cannot enjoy food. It just means you got to be smart in compensating and insulin management.

Disease has become a very negative word, a word that no longer means what a dictionary definition says it does. It is associated with so much negativity that by saying the word itself means something awful has happened. Believe it or not, considering diabetes a disease can have a very negative impact on your attitude towards it and therefore in its’ management and daily life. Diabetes just means we have one more thing we depend on and that becomes a disease if you let it become one.

FIGHT AND BE STRONG.

DIABETES IS NOT A DISEASE.